Franconian Beer Message Board
Oberfranken trip report |
| Posted by Mark Andersen on 2015-08-11 09:08:51 |
| I'll try not to be too wordy. I can't remember it all anyhow. In summary from July 28th to August 5th I did a good mix of beer hiking, touring by car (thanks to Gerhard!) and by bus (thanks to the Nebraskans) and a couple of lazy days just wandering around Bamberg. I was very fortunate with the weather (as Jimbo can attest) as the first few days were sunny, low 20's, and dry. It didn't start to really heat up until my last two days and even then it wasn't the heat wave of 35-38 that came after I left. So very pleasant weather overall. It's about time too. I've been snake bitten in July up until this year for the most part. First day for me was unexpected/spur of the moment trip out to Roppelt's and Kreuzberg. Got a text from Jimbo asking if I wanted to join him so I decided jet lag be damned and went along. We were also joined by Bill and Wes Pearson who are from Rhode Island and that we occasionally see at a local beer festival or pub around New England. Since it was late in the day we decided to be expedient and take a cab split 4 ways otherwise we would have gotten there too late. Did the same coming back to Bamberg. About 10-11 euros each both ways. I can live with that as it was a good time and Lieberth's keller especially was fun with a live band, lively crowd that spilled out of the church beforehand, and the beer was in good form. I enjoyed Roppelt's very much as always. Rittmayer and the behemoth we're okay too. Second day was the only cloudly and cool day of the trip. Perfect for drinking at Mahr's out of the Schwemme while we still can get it Bayerish Anstich. Helles and U were both excellent IMO. Actually for me Mahrs was the best Bamberg beer of the trip. I've shifted over from Spezial being my favorite to Mahrs. Spezial U that I would have later on in trip wasn't as great as I remember it. Nice beer tasting over at Cafe Abseits with a group of folks including Jimbo, myself, my friend Ingmar from Hamburg, Elmar (whom some of you know from knowing Juergen), Gregor (a brewer at Mahrs), the Pearsons, Gerhard (of course), and Lisa (a local beer expert). Good time and a lot of different beer sampled. I cannot begin to remember them all but I will say Juergen's beer was sampled first and was very good. Managed to cram in a night cap or two at Stohrenkeller for some excellent Witzgall Vollbier. Annafest was day three from about 3pm until they kicked us out. We got home somehow. I'm not sure where Jimbo started but I know Ingmar and I visited starting from top Shutzenkeller (spelling may be wrong but beer was Hebendanz), Neder, Grief, Schanzenbrau, one of the Lowenbrau kellers, and finally Mahrs. Well you can do the math and it was a very interesting ride home. I know that Ingmar and I and I'm sure Jimbo were very, very grateful that on the next day we would have a much more relaxed tour of the Steigerwald with a big thanks to Gerhard for driving us. Visited Schrufer in Priesendorf, Thayer in Theinheim, Stern Brau in Schlusselfeld, Schwan Kelller in Burgebrach, and finally Buettner in Untergreuth. Top marks for the day on beer go to Thayer and Stern Brau with top marks for atmosphere and bayerisch anstich to Buettner of Untergreuth. Oh almost forgot to mention the Kriek beer brewed by Thayer that we got to sample as well. A pleasant surprise. Saturday did a hike starting at Meister in Unterzaunsbach to Penning Zeissler in Hetzelsdorf. Took train to Forchheim then bus 222 ot Unterzaunsbach. The train was overrun with revelers heading to Annafest. Both very enjoyable beers. The hike itself was really nice but very steep for a good stretch so not for those that don't want to get a workout. I needed it after all the previous debauchery. The plan was to continue the walk down to Pretzfeld but we enjoyed ourselves at these two places so much that it got late and one of the brewers at Penning Zeissler offered us a ride so we took it. Had dinner and a couple of beers at Nikl Brau then walked to the bahnhof to head back. Sunday did a nice beer walk starting at Breitengussbach bahnhof walking to Wagner Keller in Kemmern. Fairly long walk all the way to the keller but the walk from there to Diller Keller and Eichhorn in Dorfleins was nice and not long. Beer at Eichhorn was gravity poured (I updated the Wiki page with that info). I had to get back by 5pm to meet the Nebraskans as they were starting their evening keller bus tour from the Best Western in Bamberg. So walked through Hallstadt to catch the train back. Bus tour with the Nebraskans, Gerhard, Jimbo, Arndt, and Norbert was great fun. Norbert brought a crate of his homebrew onto the bus to sample in between. Visited Zeil Am Main (where there was a Wein fest going on 0 with beer stands!), Roppelt's keller in Trosendorf, Hermann Keller in Ampferbach, and finally Brauerei Zehender for the night cap. Actually the night ended at Faessla Stub'n but I ultimately passed on the liter of Faessla Pils and went to bed instead. I was tempted to meet up with the Nebraskans at Annafest but ultimately didn't feel like dealing with the crowds again and drinking liters. So on a whim decided to take the Tiefellern to Strullendorf hike for the 3rd time. Only 3rd time is the charm as this was the first time I continued all the way to Strullendorf. Probably because I was hiking alone which made things quicker overall and I skipped over Winkler in Melkendorf. The first and last stops I think were my favorites of the day. Hoenig beer was very enjoyable and they were serving it from the barrel out of the hut next to the beer garden. This beer is growing on me. It was my first visit to Schwanen Keller in Strullendorf and I loved it. Beer also gravity poured and delicious not to mention a really nice keller with a view at sundown of Altenburg castle in the distance. Last day just a semi-rest day in Bamberg with visits to the kellers on Stephensburg. During the week in Bamberg visited Zapfhahn on Untersandstrasse and enjoyed the burgers and the beer selection. Tried to catch a barrel on at Rotenschild without success but still enjoyed Metzgerbrau from the bottle there. It's a nice little upstairs, quieter, sanctuary fromt he bustle of Obersandstrasse below. Good Frueschoppen twice at Schlenkerla. Visited Faessla keller for the first time (Meh!), and as mentioned Witzgall on tap at Stohrenkeller. That's all. Until next year. |
| Followups: |
 Oberfranken trip report by Mosquit on 2015-08-12 00:18:34 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Nick B. on 2015-08-12 00:30:37 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Mark Andersen on 2015-08-12 04:47:05 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Mark Andersen on 2015-08-12 04:52:46 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Nick B. on 2015-08-12 07:20:15 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Uncle Jimbo on 2015-08-12 20:39:55 |
| Oberfranken trip report by Mark Andersen on 2015-08-13 07:22:40 |